Speeder Bike Recon - TCW [B] - Battle Packs

Anakin is sent to the planet Teth to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped son. The Huttlet is being held in a B'omarr monk monastery built on a high cliff. Anakin and his team of clone troopers fight their way up the cliff as battle droids attack from above. On the ground below, clone troopers on speeder bikes guard protect the assault team as battle droids launch an attack from the rear.

When The
Clone Wars film came out, fans
and collectors were treated to a sensory
overload of clone trooper goodness. The
fly-bys of STAPs and speeders and the battles
between battle droids and clone troopers
alerted a diverse viewing audience of all
the new Star Wars worlds we would soon
become familiar. The Battle of Teth in The
Clone Wars film was probably
one of the most exciting scenes of all
and gave new perspectives in the continuing
struggle against the Separatist moment.
It was also in this exciting scene where
we saw AT-TE vehicles scale 90 degree cliffs.
It was a site to behold and it took away
from the many smaller battles below. Hasbro
decided to base a Battle Packs set on some
of these events and created Speeder
Bike Recon. While it’s
not the most exciting set, it certainly
allows kids and collectors to army build
quickly and also gave us two unique clone
troopers in gray color flashes. The clone
troopers were designed to work very well
with the included speeder bikes and overall
the set satisfies in ways that may surprise
us. In other words, it’s a set that
should impress us, but we like it anyway.

There
isn’t too much new inside this set. Both
clone troopers are repaints of 2008’s
TCW Clone
Trooper (No. 5). And the two BARC
speeders that they come with have been resurrected
from the 2005 ROTS Stass Allie Deluxe figure
set. Both figures have been reworked or repainted
and Hasbro has crafted a great little set here.
While the two clone troopers are clearly reworks
of the regular release clone trooper, their
legs have seemingly been slightly repositioned
so that they can straddle the speeders as needed.
And the fit is perfect. They also can hold
onto the steering column very well. While you
may say “yeah, so what?” we exclaim “Hallelujah!” because
when action figures cannot hold or grab onto
their accessories, it really creates unnecessary
aggravation. The functionality of this set
is nearly flawless and although the clone troopers
are a little bit boring, they serve their purpose
well. And how cool is it to get another color
of clone trooper? You may have a different
opinion here too, but variety is the spice
of life, especially in The
Clone Wars!

Hasbro
made Battle Packs like Speeder
Bike Recon and B’omarr
Monastery Assault to help pad the
release of the AT-TE (All Terrain Tactical
Enforcer) so that kids could really have fun
recreating the Battle of Teth as seen in the
film. But these Battle Packs have also been
designed to appease collectors. Hasbro has
been gracious too by updating the action figures
contained within them to make it a worthwhile
purchase for even the most stringent collectors.
Many of you prefer to never get another BARC
speeder, speeder bike or STAP ever again, but
these are mainstays in The Clone Wars many
story arcs and their eventual rereleases are
inevitable. But the Speeder Bike Recon Battle
Packs sets definitely give the collector a
new take on a basic character, even if the
set is a little repetitious and lacks versatility.
A third clone trooper would have made this
set perfect, but we are likely going to see
less figures added to these multipacks. While
Battle Packs do not embody the theme or moral
of the entire The
Clone Wars film, they definitely
do however serve as a snapshot of some of the
most important events we have witnessed. The Speeder
Bike Recon does just that, and
you know you want to get cool looking gray
colored clone troopers!

Collector Notes

Speeder Bike Recon

Clone Trooper [A]

Clone troopers clash with battle droids in an attempt to breach the monastery. Providing mobile combat support, clone troopers swoop into the fray on their speeder bikes.

Status: Clone Trooper [A] is a slight retool and rework of 2008's TCW Clone Trooper (No. 5) figure. These gray color-flashed clones did not appear in The Clone Wars film. It appears that this figure's legs have been slightly repositioned to accomodate straddling the speeder bike more naturally.

Speeder Bike [A]

Speeder bikes are ideal for combat in forested environments like the heavy undergrowth found on Teth, swiftly negotiating through tangled foliage.

Status: Speeder Bike [A] is a repaint of the BARC Speeder that came with 2005's ROTS Stass Allie Deluxe figure.

Articulation Count: 1 point

Articulation Details: retractable landing gear

Accessory Count: None (Speeder Bikes disassembles into 3 parts)

Accessory Details: None

Date Stamp: 2005

Clone Trooper [B]

Clone troopers clash with battle droids in an attempt to breach the monastery. Providing mobile combat support, clone troopers swoop into the fray on their speeder bikes.

Status: Clone Trooper [B] is a slight retool and rework of 2008's TCW Clone Trooper (No. 5) figure. These gray color-flashed clones did not appear in The Clone Wars film. It appears that this figure's legs have been slightly repositioned to accomodate straddling the speeder bike more naturally.